The Summit

[Horus]

Barossa Southern Ridges,
Alexandria, Cadi System

Of all the greatest secrets the Commonwealth held, Alexandria was their most cherished. Yet, as Horus Nelson gazed out across the valleys, the sun slowly setting behind peaks of rolling hills, he felt that secret was slipping. Alexandria had been isolated for ten thousand years, and in that time its location had been kept secured. Horus wondered briefly if he had done the right thing by exposing his people to the galaxy, but most of all, had he done the right thing by sending out the invitations he had.

Horus had hailed critical political powers on this side of the galactic disc, the Iron Empire, the First Order and the Techno Empire. With the invitation were the coordinates of Alexandria, and for the first time in ten millennia he had officially exposed his people to the dangers of the galaxy. It wouldn't be long until Alexandria was on every star chart from Sullust to Bastion. He hoped that his actions for many years to come would secure the national security of the Commonwealth.

The chair creaked as Horus pushed further back, it was wooden furniture, like many pieces of furniture produced in Barossa. He was seated on a large outdoor deck overlooking the vast beautiful valleys of Alexandria, yet untouched by vast metropolis'. The others would join him, a less than ordinary location for such a meeting. Horus' decision to hold it here was a matter of taste, he hated the confines of government buildings where most meetings would oft take place. He enjoyed fresh air and fine food.

With full permission of the Commonwealth Security Council, Horus had temporarily ceased a ban on air traffic for the visitors alone. They could arrive at their leisure under the safe protection of the Commonwealths super-fleet, the Home Fleet. HOMECOM had also been notified of adjusting the Home Fleet to allow the dignitaries own vessels to proceed as they wished through the system.

A waiter moved out from a door, a wave of heat rolled out from the kitchen behind. The man brought Horus a bucket of ice in which several bottles of Barossa's own sweet white wine sat in. With time and silence accompanying him, the venerable Lord of Admirals placed his thumbs together and began to wait. The four great political leaders would be alone to discuss galactic matters.

_____________________

[member="Isamu Baelor"] | [member="Natasi Fortan"] | [member="Werah Unon"]

 

[Werah Unon]

Werah's leisure cruiser glided into the ornate spaceport, hardly making a sound as the slim vessel landed softly. The ship was the top of its range, worth more than most could even dream of. Luxurious decor, fully staffed systems, custom designed styling... Werah hated it. He missed the thrill of a warship, the tension, the excitement. Of course, bringing the TE's Star Destroyer flagship on a diplomatic mission may have been taken the wrong way, so Werah had chosen the silver starship. As the ramp extended, and Werah strode out, he wondered what to expect on this foreign world...

Werah walked purposefully into the conference room, reflecting on the journey. The planet itself was undoubtedly beautiful, even more so from the ground. The views were spectacular, a far cry from the endless desert of Geonosis. Werah saw Horus at the table, and nodded his head in greeting. Werah himself struck an imposing figure, standing over 2m tall, and cloaked in a shimmering metal armour. It was odd, wondered Werah, that he always saw the world though the inbuilt computer. The constant flow of data into his headset seemed natural to him now. Werah sat down without speaking, and waited for the others to arrive.

[member="Horus"] [member="Natasi Fortan"] [member="Isamu Baelor"]

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Natasi Fortan was well aware of the privilege that she enjoyed being able to visit Alexandria. She arrived with limited security, only two bodyguards, as a show of good faith and friendship to the Commonwealth. Their relationship was not a formal one, but Natasi was hoping to bring them into the 'friend' column in the near term, so she had been pleased to accept the invitation to the summit with the other leaders of the major and minor powers in the vicinity. The less time and energy they spent worrying about their neighbors, the more time and energy they had to spend on other problems -- chief among them, the expansionary efforts of the Galactic Alliance and troubling rumors of a violent aliens that had reached the ears of the First Order Security Bureau in recent weeks.

Alexandria was beautiful, a lush and attractive world, Natasi noted as she was escorted into the conference room. Sioux Chambers followed along with small chests, one for each of the leaders -- [member="Horus"]' chest was the largest, as a show of respect for the host, but all contained gifts from the First Order capital of Dosuun -- wine from vineyards in the outskirts of Prosperia, musical recordings from the First Imperial Symphony in Primo Victoria, and so forth. Natasi approached the table and bowed to Horus, then nodded to [member="Werah Unon"]. "Thank you for your kind invitation, Lord Admiral," Natasi told Horus. "Please, may I present a token of our respect?" Sioux approached Horus, placing the chest down before him, then placed the other two chests down in front of Werah Union's place, and [member="Isamu Baelor"]'s place.

As Sioux made her exit, Natasi took her own appointed seat. "I'm pleased to see you looking so well, Lord Admiral, and to make your acquaintance, Mr. Unon."

 

[Isamu Baelor]

The mouth of the Iron Empire’s shuttle opened, its ramp descended. The Iron Emperor, clad in that of his battle armour, emerged from the shuttles innards. At his side, stood a squad of Iron Guard soldiers. Members of the lauded Iron Wolves battalion. They strode down the ramp, stepping onto the spaceport's landing, before being received by a representative of the Commonwealth.

“Emperor Baelor.” The man said, greeting Isamu with a respectful bow. “If you would come with me, the other delegates have arrived.”

With a subtle nod, Isamu acknowledged the man’s words. The representative escorted the Emperor, and his guard, to where the meeting would be held: a large deck overlooking a vast valley. It seemed quiet. Peaceful. A far cry from the battle-weary systems of the Iron Empire’s domain.

The battle-scarred veteran stepped through the deck’s larges doors. He strode to the table, and greeted the delegates from the First Order and Techno Empire, as well as the host who beckoned them here. “Lord of Admirals. Grand Moff. Supreme Commander.” He said. Each title was followed by a courteous nod, a show of respect for the positions they held.

Isamu approached his assigned seat, and took notice of a peculiar item. A small chest, brimming with cultural gifts from the First Order, sat at the chairs foot. He cared little for the trinkets, but one show of respect beckoned another. “You have my thanks, Grand Moff Fortan.” He said.

[member="Natasi Fortan"] [member="Werah Unon"] [member="Horus"]

 

[Werah Unon]

Werah gave a polite greeting to the other two rulers as they entered the room, and thanked the Grand Moff when she handed out her boxes. The atmosphere was tense, and Werah wondered who would speak first. Werah's voice processor activated upon his command, speaking in a oddly robotic voice. "Well it seems that we're all here." He looked towards Horus, and said "Shall we begin?". Waiting for a response, Werah looked at the 3 people around him. There was the Grand Moff of the First Order, Natasi Fortan. They had met before, but Werah had only been a young apprentice at the time, and he doubted she would have remembered. The armoured Iron Emperor was a new face to Werah, though Werah had heard of him even on the other side of the galaxy. And of course, the Lord of Admirals himself sat there, hosting the meeting. This would be an interesting day, it seemed...

[member="Isamu Baelor"][member="Natasi Fortan"][member="Horus"]

 

[Horus]

Horus began to uncork the wine as Werah stepped into the room. Candles burned gently, wax dripping onto wooden tabletops. Incense burned and wafted sweet scents over the outdoor deck. "Welcome to Alexandria," Horus greeted the alien. Tall and armored, it made the Lord of Admirals uncomfortable. There was no fight to be had here. Perhaps it was an attempt of showing strength but Horus felt like the man was paranoid rather than powerful. The alien made no greeting but gave only a nod. No wine for him, Horus thought, and poured only one glass for himself.

The doors parted after a quiet moment and Horus recognized Natasi, along with an escort following in her steps carrying chests, the largest reserved for Horus himself. A warm smile parted his lips shining bright jeweled teeth. They were fake, he had lost most of his teeth some years ago. The burden of age. Wrinkles creased his cheeks. "A pleasure to have you, you may certainly call me Horus," he said in greeting to Natasi, then motioned with his hand in acceptance as she offered gifts.

While his heart yearned to open the chest like a young lad on their birthday, he resisted. It was impolite and rude to do so, especially when it was visibly apparent his chest was larger than the others. "Wine?" he asked Natasi but had already begun pouring as he spoke the words. Perhaps not as grandiose as those of her homeworld. It was sweet and not bitter, and Alexandrians cared little for red wine. The doors parted once more, the last guest. Once more, another individual wearing armor.

While Horus had no comlink to CNI, he knew Winslow and the spooks would be buzzing around paranoid that this was some sort of setup. Alas, Horus remained comfortable and unconcerned. His thoughts mostly drifted to the reign of the monarchy prior to the birth of the Commonwealth. Either trouble was afoot, the two of them were paranoid, or armor was fashionable in some parts of the galaxy. Werah's voice cut across the deck, synthetic in nature, he urged the meeting to begin. Horus' brows furrowed, "Yes."

Horus finished the glass of wine set before him and cleared his throat. "While all of us here do not share common interests, we share common enemies. The enemy of my enemy is my friend." Horus began to pour another glass as a waiter began to hand out menu's for dinner. Horus himself quietly murmured into the waiters ear for a sea platter. His attention turned back to the leaders, "We're nations within and bordering the Unknown Regions, ostracized by other galactic powers. Individually we can hold our own against the threat of the Unknown, but surely we can not do so against both the threats of the Unknown and the threats of other galactic powers nearer the Core."

"I hope that over the coming night we may formulate treaties among each other. There is safety in numbers. Though do not get me wrong," Horus said, "I believe that all of us here are only self-interested in our own survival, but we must do so together." Horus took a sip from the wine, "As the saying goes; This is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky, and the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die. As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back; For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack."

[member="Werah Unon"] | [member="Isamu Baelor"] | [member="Natasi Fortan"]

 

[Natasi Fortan]

Bowing her head respectfully, the Grand Moff managed not to flinch at the multicolored display in the Lord of Admirals' mouth. Instead she said, "Very well, Horus. Then you must please call me Natasi." She found her way to her seat, nodding introductions to the others who entered, and then rested her arms on her chair's armrests, preparing herself for the negotiations that would follow. Horus made a good Natasi favored [member="Horus"] with a genuine, if reserved, smile as he quoted the old poem. She inclined her head as her concluded. "Well said, Lord of Admirals," she said. "But not quite accurate. The First Order is concerned with a great deal more than its own survival. We seek order and stability for all peoples, and to deal fairly with those who will deal fairly in return. It is in this spirit that we agreed to meet with the parties gathered here."

She paused to collect her thoughts, examining the men in front of her for a few brief moments. "These may sound like idealized words from a politician, but I can assure you that that is the policy of my government. My concern for what is in the Unknown Regions is not inconsiderbale. But what concerns me a great deal more is the regions we know all to well -- specifically, the regions occupied by the Galactic Alliance. They can mean none of us any goodwill, and stand to offer us all a great deal of ill will -- particularly the Commonwealth and the First Order, but the Techno Empire and the Iron Empire as well, if our intelligence dossiers are to be believed."

Natasi paused to communicate her order to the waiter. "Forgive me if I'm getting ahead of myself. It is so energizing to be speaking freely of these matters with people who truly understand them, for once."

 

[Werah Unon]

Werah nodded thoughtfully at the Grand Moff's words. The Galactic Alliance were a constant looming threat, hanging over them at every second. " I could not agree more", Werah spoke through the voice synthesiser, "The galaxy is in turmoil, and we must work together if we wish to make it though these dark times. Recently, the CIS has come under many attacks, from seemingly independent organisations - but our researchers have found that they all link back to the GA, in the end. Order and Stability are fine goals to reach for, but we must work if we want to reap the rewards." Werah took a deep breath from his antiox mask, and continued. "Isolated, we could all fall beneath the Alliance. One by one, they can pick off all free worlds, and extinguish any competitors. However, if we work together, we create security for our people, and eventually, when the chaos has subsided, we can bring order back into this war-torn galaxy."

[member="Natasi Fortan"] [member="Horus"] [member="Isamu Baelor"]